PSG vs Al Nassr/Al Hilal, Messi and Ronaldo face off – live score ...

So if you're conducting a scouting operation of the cream of the Saudi league, I might not be much help. I should be able to identify Ronaldo, though.

PSG rather casually posted their starting XI 17 minutes before kick off. 

That is a very strong team: Navas; Hakimi, Marquinhos, Ramos, Bernat; Fabian Ruiz, Soler, Sanches; Neymar, Messi, Mbappe

Tickets for this sold out at an incredible speed if reports are to be believed. 

Bad news for any Arsenal fans out there who fancied a trip down memory lane. I'm surprised he came far enough off his line to sustain injury- usually he is standing two yards behind it. 

Their pitchside reporters are wrapped up in quilted coats. Apparently there is quite a chilly breeze whipping around the stadium. So we might finally get the answer to whether Messi can do it on a cold Thursday night in Riyadh?

Lionel Messi touching tarmac in Saudi Arabia, where his an ambassador for the Kingdom's tourist board, on a Qatar Airways flight to play a game for a club owned by Qatar Sports Investments. The glory game, eh...

Cristiano Ronaldo plays his first game since moving to Saudi Arabia this afternoon, as he captains an Al Nassr/Al Hilal combined XI against a PSG side featuring Lionel Messi.

It has been a contrasting few months for the two modern legends of the sport, with Messi lifting the World Cup for Argentina in December and Ronaldo calling time on his top level career in an interview with Piers Morgan.

Ronaldo signed for Saudi side Al-Nassr on an extraordinary £165 million a year contract, after Manchester United terminated his contract.

Football finance expert Neil Joyce told Reuters that Ronaldo's move to Saudi Arabia could set a precedent for more big-name players to arrive and develop the Saudi league in the same way to Pele's impact on US Soccer after he joined New York Cosmos in 1975.

"It's more of a short-term hit that they can get with him. But also, if they want to become the next version of the MLS (Major League Soccer). Think back to Pele," Joyce said.

"The Ronaldo effect could take hold in that area and, given the success of the World Cup in that region, I think it makes a lot of sense for Ronaldo and the value that it can bring in the not-too-distant future.

"You're going to see a series of relatively high-profile stars that maybe are entering the latter stages of their career, probably moving over to Saudi Arabia."

PSG are top of Ligue 1 on 47 points at the halfway mark, although their lead over second-place Lens is just three points. They resume their league campaign against Reims next Sunday. Christophe Galtier's team face a difficult Champions League last-16 tie against Bayern Munich next month, the team who beat them in the final of the competition in 2020.

Full team news on the way shortly.